ASSIGNMENT No.

02
Philosophy of Education (8609) B.ed 1.5 years
Autumn, 2020
Q.1 Analyze Plato's theory of education. (20)

Plato was the earliest most important Greek Philosopher and educational thinker. Plato thinks
education as a key for a society and he stress on education, for this purpose he want to go to the
extreme level even removing children from their mothers and rise them by the state, he want to
identify the skills of the children and give them proper education for that particular skill which they
have so they could be become a suitable member of the society and fulfil their duty in society. Plato
want to a search for intelligent and gifted children in the whole society, Plato's don’t belief that talent
belong to a limited class therefore he stress on education for all so the talented children get the chance
to shine.

Plato contributed a lot in the form of ideas and it inspired his follower to find new ways for education
and training of the children. In fact Plato himself did not contribute directly to science and mathematics
but he stress on these subjects, his philosophy of education influenced the developments of these
subjects in centuries to come. In the philosophy of Plato we can see some signs of the philosophy of
Socrates; However Plato covered the major aspects of philosophy discussed today.

Plato was born in an upper class family in Athens; he was interested in political career, but after the
death of his teacher Socrates Plato pursues his teacher philosophy. For the purpose of education Plato
travel to Egypt and Italy, there he learnt mathematics. After returning home he established an
Academy, to teach moral values to the elite youth of Athens to make them better leaders of the
society. Plato shows his ability of writing in different fields; ethics, music, drama, poetry, metaphysics,
dance, architecture which are the ideal forms of Government. Contribution of Plato in scientific subject
is little but his ideas on education inspired his followers to explore new dimension in education.

Plato writes in his book "Let us describe the education of our men. What then is the education to be?
Perhaps we could hardly find a better than that which the experience of the past has already
discovered, which consists, , in gymnastic, for the body, and music for the mind."
Plato not only consider better education for men but also believe on strong body and sound mind, for
body he recommend sports and for sound mind music. Plato ”No man should bring children into the
world, who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education.

EDUCATIONAL THEORIES OF PLATO

Education for All

Plato want every boy and girl educated to it limit.

State Education
Education should be provided by the state not by parents.

Organization and Curriculum

Plato curriculum was consist of gymnastic and music, where in gymnastic include physical training and
music used in broad term for dram, history, oratory and music in real term, he define different stages
for the organization and curriculum;

1. Elementary School

Co-education at elementary level and teach them mathematics, poetry, music and literature till the age
of eighteen years.

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2. Military Training

After elementary education two years of Physical education should be given to them and select best of
them for higher education; to prepare for the future guardians of the state.

3. Higher Education

Higher education should be given from twenty to thirty-five years of age, he well study the subjects at
this stage mathematics, literature and philosophy. Later on he would be opponent at a minor
administrative position to get experience for the future more important governing positions.

“The object of education is to turn the eye which the soul already possesses to the light. The whole
function of education is not to put knowledge into the soul, but to bring out the best things that are
latent in the soul, and to do so by directing it to the right objects. The problem of education, then, is to
give it the right surrounding.” -(Plato’s Republic, Book vii, 518)

Nothing was more important to Plato in human life as education. He considers education the greatest
thing in human life as he mention in his book “the one great thing”. Plato’s Theory of education was an
indispensable necessity for mankind. It was a positive remedy for the problems and operation of justice
in an ideal state.

Women Education

Plato also emphases on women education, he consider the same kind of education for women. Women
should the same physical and educational training; they should know the art of war. The main aim of
Plato was that each member of the society should undertake his work and responsibilities.

Plato believed that women are equal to men and that, although some women are physically smaller or
weak, some women are physically equal to men therefore those women who are physically strong
should be allowed to learn the same skills that men do. In his book Republic Plato describes how male
and female receive the same education and be given the same duties in society as given to the male
member. These people are the ones who will be in charge his republic which would be an ideal society,
where philosophers are kings. In other words, who know what is good for the people and for the
mankind and take their decisions based on that knowledge.

Teaching Methods

Plato recommended play method at elementary level; student should learn by doing. And when he
reached the higher level of education, his reason would be trained in the processes of thinking and
abstracting. Plato wants motivation and interest in learning. He is against the use of force in education.
"Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. In another place he
writes "Do not then train youths by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their
minds so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of
each." – Plato

Plato writes in his Republic

“Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under
compulsion obtains no hold on the mind”

Plato “The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things. Plato
wants a place where children love to go and stay there and they play with things which enhance their
education by playing. Plato gives importance to nursery education, he thinks nursery education plays a
vital role in the education of man, it help to build his moral character and state of mind "The most
important part of education is proper training in the nursery." –plato

Plato think It will be hard to discover a better [method of education] than that which the experience of
so many ages has already discovered, and this may be summed up as consisting in gymnastics for the
body, and _music_ for the soul... For this reason is a musical education so essential; since it causes
Rhythm and Harmony to penetrate most intimately into the soul, taking the strongest hold upon it,
filling it with _beauty_ and making the man _beautiful-minded_.

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The above quotation of Plato show, how he sees education, he wants the total development of a man,
mind body and soul by using every possible mean. That why in another place Plato writes;
"But then, if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say that they can
put a knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes.

They undoubtedly say this, he replied.

Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and
that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the
instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of
becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest
and best of being, or in other words, of the good." -Plato's Allegory of the Cave & Exploring Plato's

Plato Aims of Education* To develop leader among the future rulers. * To develop hard and competent
workers.

* To produce leaders with military skill among the warriors.

* To produce future Civil Servants of the state.

The highest goal of education, Plato believed, is the knowledge of Good; to nurture a man to a better
human being it is not merely an awareness of particular benefits and pleasures,

Stages of Education

Plato describes different stages of education in his republic. According to Plato the education of child
should be start at the age of seven year and before this stage the child should stay with their mother
or elders and learn moral education from them. After the age of six years both girls and boys should be
separated and boys should play with boys and girls with girls and they should be taught the use of
different arms to both sexes. This stage goes up to the age of seventeen years. During these years
they should teach them music and early education. After the age of seventeen years the youth should
be brought to battle filed to learn real life experiences. The four stages start at the age of twenty five
to thirty years and in this age they get the training of Mathematical calculation and last for another ten
years, after the completion the selected one’s are admitted in the study of dialect.

During fifth stage they study dialect for another five years and after that, at the sixth stage one is
ready to become a ruler and philosopher and the one enter in practical life.

Plato's View on Moral Ethics

Ethics is the most important branch of philosophy. Plato especially gives attention to the moral and
ethical education of the men, later on Plato gradually widened the scope of his investigations by
reflecting not only on the social and political conditions of morality, but also on the logical and
metaphysical presuppositions of a successful moral theory. Plato presents his ideas for an ideal society
in his Republic and he provided detail about the curriculum and system of education. According to Plato
the ideal society who cares for their youth and the guardian would be responsible for the moral
education of their children. Every person would know his duty and his responsibility.

Q.2 Describe the Impact of John Dewery's Philosophy on Modern Education. (20)

John Dewey was a leading proponent of the American school of thought known as pragmatism, a view
that rejected the dualistic epistemology and metaphysics of modern philosophy in favor of a
naturalistic approach that viewed knowledge as arising from an active adaptation of the human
organism to its environment. On this view, inquiry should not be understood as consisting of a mind
passively observing the world and drawing from this ideas that if true correspond to reality, but rather
as a process which initiates with a check or obstacle to successful human action, proceeds to active
manipulation of the environment to test hypotheses, and issues in a re-adaptation of organism to
environment that allows once again for human action to proceed. With this view as his starting point,
Dewey developed a broad body of work encompassing virtually all of the main areas of philosophical
concern in his day. He also wrote extensively on social issues in such popular publications as the New
Republic, thereby gaining a reputation as a leading social commentator of his time.

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According to Dewey good education should have both a societal purpose and purpose for the individual
student. For Dewey, the long-term matters, but so does the short-term quality of an educational
experience. Educators are responsible, therefore, for providing students with experiences that are
immediately valuable and which better enable the students to contribute to society.

Dewey polarizes two extremes in education -- traditional and progressive education.

The paradigm war still goes on -- on the one hand, relatively structured, disciplined, ordered, didactic
tradition education vs. relatively unstructured, free, student-directed progressive education. Dewey
criticizes traditional education for lacking in holistic understanding of students and designing curricula
overly focused on content rather than content and process which is judged by its contribution to the
well-being of individuals and society.

On the other hand, progressive education, he argues, is too reactionary and takes a free approach
without really knowing how or why freedom can be most useful in education. Freedom for the sake of
freedom is a weak philosophy of education. Dewey argues that we must move beyond this paradigm
war, and to do that we need a theory of experience.

Thus, Dewey argues that educators must first understand the nature of human experience.

Interaction of two principles

Dewey's theory is that experience arises from the interaction of two principles -- continuity and
interaction. Continuity is that each experience a person has will influence his/her future, for better or
for worse. Interaction refers to the situational influence on one's experience. In other words, one's
present experience is a function of the interaction between one's past experiences and the present
situation. For example, my experience of a lesson, will depend on how the teacher arranges and
facilitates the lesson, as well my past experience of similar lessons and teachers. It is important to
understand that, for Dewey, no experience has pre-ordained value. Thus, what may be a rewarding
experience for one person, could be a detrimental experience for another.

The value of the experience is to be judged by the effect that experience has on the individual's
present, their future, and the extent to which the individual is able to contribute to society. Dewey says
that once we have a theory of experience, then as educators can set about progressively organizing
our subject matter in a way that it takes accounts of students' past experiences, and then provides
them with experiences which will help to open up, rather than shut down, a person's access to future
growth experiences, thereby expanding the person's likely contribution to society. Dewey examines his
theory of experience in light of practical educational problems, such as the debate between how much
freedom vs. discipline to use. Dewey shows that his theory of experience (continuity and interaction)
can be useful guides to help solving such issues.

Throughout, there is a strong emphasis on the subjective quality of a student's experience and the
necessity for the teacher of understanding the students' past experiences in order to effectively design
a sequence of liberating educational experiences to allow the person to fulfil their potential as a
member of society.

Life and Works

John Dewey was born on October 20, 1859, the third of four sons born to Archibald Sprague Dewey
and Lucina Artemesia Rich of Burlington, Vermont. The eldest sibling died in infancy, but the three
surviving brothers attended the public school and the University of Vermont in Burlington with John.
While at the University of Vermont, Dewey was exposed to evolutionary theory through the teaching of
G.H. Perkins and Lessons in Elementary Physiology, a text by T.H. Huxley, the famous English
evolutionist. The theory of natural selection continued to have a life-long impact upon Dewey's
thought, suggesting the barrenness of static models of nature, and the importance of focusing on the
interaction between the human organism and its environment when considering questions of
psychology and the theory of knowledge. The formal teaching in philosophy at the University of
Vermont was confined for the most part to the school of Scottish realism, a school of thought that
Dewey soon rejected, but his close contact both before and after graduation with his teacher of
philosophy, H.A.P. Torrey, a learned scholar with broader philosophical interests and sympathies, was
later accounted by Dewey himself as "decisive" to his philosophical development.

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After graduation in 1879, Dewey taught high school for two years, during which the idea of pursuing a
career in philosophy took hold. With this nascent ambition in mind, he sent a philosophical essay to
W.T. Harris, then editor of the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, and the most prominent of the St.
Louis Hegelians. Harris's acceptance of the essay gave Dewey the confirmation he needed of his
promise as a philosopher. With this encouragement he traveled to Baltimore to enroll as a graduate
student at Johns Hopkins University.

Theory of Knowledge

The central focus of Dewey's philosophical interests throughout his career was what has been
traditionally called "epistemology," or the "theory of knowledge." It is indicative, however, of Dewey's
critical stance toward past efforts in this area that he expressly rejected the term "epistemology,"
preferring the "theory of inquiry" or "experimental logic" as more representative of his own approach.

In Dewey's view, traditional epistemologies, whether rationalist or empiricist, had drawn too stark a
distinction between thought, the domain of knowledge, and the world of fact to which thought
purportedly referred: thought was believed to exist apart from the world, epistemically as the object of
immediate awareness, ontologically as the unique aspect of the self. The commitment of modern
rationalism, stemming from Descartes, to a doctrine of innate ideas, ideas constituted from birth in the
very nature of the mind itself, had effected this dichotomy; but the modern empiricists, beginning with
Locke, had done the same just as markedly by their commitment to an introspective methodology and
a representational theory of ideas. The resulting view makes a mystery of the relevance of thought to
the world: if thought constitutes a domain that stands apart from the world, how can its accuracy as an
account of the world ever be established? For Dewey a new model, rejecting traditional presumptions,
was wanting, a model that Dewey endeavored to develop and refine throughout his years of writing
and reflection.

Metaphysics

Dewey's naturalistic metaphysics first took shape in articles that he wrote during the decade after the
publication of Studies in Logical Theory, a period when he was attempting to elucidate the implications
of instrumentalism. Dewey disagreed with William James's assessment that pragmatic principles were
metaphysically neutral. (He discusses this disagreement in "What Does Pragmatism Mean by Practical,"
published in 1908.) Dewey's view was based in part on an assessment of the motivations behind
traditional metaphysics: a central aim of the metaphysical tradition had been the discovery of an
immutable cognitive object that could serve as a foundation for knowledge. The pragmatic theory, by
showing that knowledge is a product of an activity directed to the fulfillment of human purposes, and
that a true (or warranted) belief is known to be such by the consequences of its employment rather
than by any psychological or ontological foundations, rendered this longstanding aim of metaphysics, in
Dewey's view, moot, and opened the door to renewed metaphysical discussion grounded firmly on an
empirical basis.

Ethical and Social Theory

Dewey's mature thought in ethics and social theory is not only intimately linked to the theory of
knowledge in its founding conceptual framework and naturalistic standpoint, but also complementary
to it in its emphasis on the social dimension of inquiry both in its processes and its consequences. In
fact, it would be reasonable to claim that Dewey's theory of inquiry cannot be fully understood either in
the meaning of its central tenets or the significance of its originality without considering how it applies
to social aims and values, the central concern of his ethical and social theory.

Dewey rejected the atomistic understanding of society of the Hobbesian social contract theory,
according to which the social, cooperative aspect of human life was grounded in the logically prior and
fully articulated rational interests of individuals. Dewey's claim in Experience and Nature that the
collection of meanings that constitute the mind have a social origin expresses the basic contention, one
that he maintained throughout his career, that the human individual is a social being from the start,
and that individual satisfaction and achievement can be realized only within the context of social habits
and institutions that promote it.

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Aesthetics

Dewey's one significant treatment of aesthetic theory is offered in Art as Experience, a book that was
based on the William James Lectures that he delivered at Harvard University in 1931. The book stands
out as a diversion into uncommon philosophical territory for Dewey, adumbrated only by a somewhat
sketchy and tangential treatment of art in one chapter of Experience and Nature. The unique status of
the work in Dewey's corpus evoked some criticism from Dewey's followers, most notably Stephen
Pepper, who believed that it marked an unfortunate departure from the naturalistic standpoint of his
instrumentalism, and a return to the idealistic viewpoints of his youth. On close reading, however, Art
as Experience reveals a considerable continuity of Dewey's views on art with the main themes of his
previous philosophical work, while offering an important and useful extension of those themes. Dewey
had always stressed the importance of recognizing the significance and integrity of all aspects of
human experience. His repeated complaint against the partiality and bias of the philosophical tradition
expresses this theme. Consistent with this theme, Dewey took account of qualitative immediacy in
Experience and Nature, and incorporated it into his view of the developmental nature of experience, for
it is in the enjoyment of the immediacy of an integration and harmonization of meanings, in the
"consummatory phase" of experience that, in Dewey's view, the fruition of the re-adaptation of the
individual with environment is realized. These central themes are enriched and deepened in Art as
Experience, making it one of Dewey's most significant works.

Q.3 Develop a teaching method based on Muslim philosophy of education. (20)

Education based on Islam has the significant contribution towards human’s life. This has been proved
through the divine revelation to Holy Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. regarding the command to know
Allah S.W.T, to discover the nature’s phenomena, as well as to recognize self development including
the aspects of aqidah, knowledge and practice. These principes has become the core of Islamic
Philosophy of Education and are entirely focused as it highlights the contribution of knowledge, belief,
and practice within human’s life.

In the centuries after the birth of Islam (632 AD), Muslims’ scholar had established schools,
universities and libraries. It had become the center of learning, including the realm of astronomy,
physics, art, philosophy, and medicine. Moreover, the various methods had been pioneered by Muslim
scholars and scientists and became the foundation of modern sciences, and were taught in European
universities up to the 18th Century. The rise of Muslims towards the civilization in a period of four
decades was based on Al-Islam’s emphasis on learning. This is obvious when one takes a look at the
Qur’an and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad which are filled with references to learning, education,
observation, and the use of reason. The first verse of the Qur’an revealed to the Prophet of Al Islam
and the night of 27th Ramadan in 611 AD;

“In the name of thy Lord who created man from a clot. And thy Lord is the Most Generous Who taught
by the pen, taught man that which he knew not.”

(Quran, 96: 1-5)

“Are those who have knowledge and those who have no knowledge alike? Only the men of
understanding are mindful.” (Quran, 39:9)

And the Quran exhorts the Muslims to do scientific research: “And who bring the truth and believe
therein such are the dutiful.” (Quran, 39: 33)

Undoubtedly, there is a diversity of approaches to, and stances taken on, writing about Islam and
education. While the vast majority of this literature is based on the view that there is a distinct Islamic
position with regards to education (Sardar, 1989; Iqbal, 1996; Wan Daud, 1998; Ali, 2000), some
critical voices question this fundamental assumption (Hoodbhouy, 1992). The advocates of a
distinctively

Islamic approach to education also differ among themselves on various matters; some argue for a
common inter-faith religious framework on education (The Islamic Academy, 1990) while others claim,
at least implicitly, a superiority of the Islamic approach over those of other religions (Mukadam, 1997).
However, in Islam there is no such thing as knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Knowledge has no
value and virtue in and by itself, but the actual virtue lies in bringing human kind closer to Allah. The
view that knowledge is the path that leads to Allah highlights two things about Islam. Firstly, the
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knowledge in Islam is important for a Muslim’s spiritual growth and development. Secondly, since
knowledge is acquired through the active process of going beyond what one already knows, critical
thinking is essential for a Muslim to grow intellectually and spiritually. It further suggests that
intellectual growth without spiritual development is aimless wandering, and spiritual development
without the intellectual component is meaningless. Besides, an authentic Islamic vision of education
has the power to re-animate a truly holistic conception of education which encompasses not only the
higher intellectual faculties, but also the realization that human excellence is inseparable from beauty
and virtue and should never be limited to an individualistic concept of personal achievement, mastery
and success.

his is a vision of tauhid, in which cognitive, moral and spiritual function are all intertwined and
interdependent, and necessarily actualized in right action. From the context of philosophy, Islamic
Philosophy is based on divine revelation, which is the Al-Quran and the As-Sunnah. According to
Hassan Langgulung (1979), the basis of Islamic Philosophy are the believe in God (Allah), the believe
in God’s devotees, the believe in divine revelation that had been gave to the prophets, the believe that
human has a potency within the development of morality and spirituality, the believe that each
individual is responsible for his action, the belief in life and life after death, and also the belief on
universal similarity among the Muslims. Based on these aspects, a balance and holistic individual is
able to be produced through the appreciation towards Islamic Philosophy of Education. It is parallel
with the implementation of National Philosophy of Education that based on God’s devotion in producing
the individual that physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and socially balanced (Mok Soon
Sang, 2004).

Pragmatism

Each elements of Islamic Philosophy of Education are entirely focused, as this philosophy stresses
towards the correlation of knowledge, belief and practice. Based on the definition of philosophy from
the characteristic of philosophy, the realm of philosophy is deeply looking towards the fact, value,
knowledge and God. For instance, the aspect of cleanliness is very important in Islam. There are many
arguments regarding the factor that cleanliness has been stressed in Islam, as it is closely related to
Muslims’ belief as well as the human’s wellness. This is parallel with the principle of pragmatism that
believe the medium of knowledge has a quality of truth if it is able to be practiced within the daily life
of human. The member of pragmatism also believes that knowledge integrated between acquired
knowledge and revealed knowledge. Based on the knowledge regarding the cleanliness, the
epistemology about this aspect is stated in Quran and has been known as the sahih ilmu wahyu, while
the ilmu akal is based on logical thought. Logically, the aspect of cleanliness should be concerned as
carelessness will cause a lot of problem in our daily life. Thus, Islamic Philosophy of Education naturally
pragmatism because it combines acquired knowledge and revealed knowledge, which cannot be
separated.

Iqbal philosophy of education

This great poet of Persian language, who composed most of his poetry in Persian and not in his own
mother tongue, could never breathe in his dear and desired climes. Not only that Iqbal never came to
Iran, but the same politics with which Iqbal was at war throughout his life did not allow his ideas, his
ideology and his teachings to reach the ears of the Iranian people, who were ever eager to receive his
message. I have an answer to this question as to why Iqbal did not come to Iran.
At that time, when Iqbal was at the pinnacle of his fame and glory and was known all over the
subcontinent and all the renowned universities of the world recognised him as a great thinker,
philosopher, scholar, humanist and sociologist (of course none of these titles corresponded to the title
by which Iqbal desired to be known), in our country the politicians who ruled the country could not
tolerate Iqbal and his ideas in any way.
Had he been alive today, he could have seen a nation standing on its feet, infused with the rich Islamic
spirit and drawing upon the inexhaustible reservoirs of Islamic heritage, a nation which has become
self-sufficient and has discarded all the glittering Western ornaments and is marching ahead
courageously, determining its own targets and moving to attain them, advancing with the frenzy of a
lover, and has not imprisoned itself within the walls of nationalism and racialism.

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Undoubtedly Iqbal is a great poet and is reckoned among the greatest. Those who know Urdu very well
and have written about Iqbal's Urdu poetry maintain that Iqbal's Urdu poems are among the best in
Urdu.
Of course this may not be a great tribute to him as the poetic tradition of Urdu is not so rich. But it
cannot be disputed that his Urdu poetry made a great impact on large numbers of people, on Hindus
and Muslims equally, living in the Subcontinent during the early decades of the twentieth century, and
motivated them to participate in the struggle (for freedom) that was reaching its climax.
In his mathnawi (a long poem consisting of rhymed couplets) Asrar-e-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self),
he refers to this point:
‫ زور ﮐﻼﻣﻢ آزﻣﻮد ﻣﺼﺮﻋﯽ ﮐﺎرﯾﺪ وﺷﻤﺸﯿﺮی ورود‬،‫ﺑﺎﻏﺒﺎن‬
“Gardener tried the strength of my words
We have a large number of non-Persian-speaking poets in the history of our literature, but I cannot
point out any of them whose poetry possesses the qualities of Iqbal's Persian poetry. Iqbal was not
acquainted with Persian idiom, as he spoke Urdu at home and talked to his friends in Urdu or English.
He did not know the rules of Persian prose writing.

Iqbal’s Poetry as his Introduction

There can be no better introduction of Iqbal than his poetry. In no other way we can introduce Iqbal
more truly. Some of the Persian poems of Iqbal are the most sublime pieces of Persian poetry. Iqbal's
verses are in different styles, in Indian style, in `Iraqi style, in Khurasani style, and in various poetic
forms, like mathnawi (poetry composed of distiches corresponding in measure, each consisting of a
pair of rhymes), ghazal (sonnet), qat`ah, dobayti (couplets) and ruba'i (quatrains).
The Implementation of the Aspect of Islamic Philosophy of Education in Viewing the Social Problem

Islamic Philosophy of Education encourages the entire humans to consider and think of their act, as
every action has its reciprocation from Allah. Thus, by preparing the teenagers with this aspect, they
would appreciate their mind and utilize it towards the right action. For instance, through the Quran
Allah had stated that;

Katakanlah, sesungguhnya sembahyangku dan ibadatku, hidupku dan matiku hanya untuk Tuhan yang
memelihara dan mentadbir sekalian alam.” (Surah Al-An’am: 162)

This verse explains one of the main concepts in the Islamic Philosophy of Education, which is the
concept of human’s obedient towards Allah. By appreciating this concept, it is able to encourage
human to do the right things and avoid from doing the wrong manner. Moreover, there is hadith by
Prophet Muhammad regarding the significance of knowledge in Islamic philosophy of Education.

The metaphysic of Islam discusses the principles of Islam towards the nature. In discussing the social
problem among teenagers, individuals need to discover the objective of human’s creation by Allah
SWT. Thus, they would realize their responsibility as the caliph of Allah on this earth, and make an
effort to gain it. One of the concepts which can be applied in discussing this problem is the concept of
oneness of Allah that consist of human’s thought, the guidance of hidayah, as well as aqal and qalbu
(the heart) which is not alienated. In order to look at the power of the creator, which is Allah, human is
encouraged to observe and to think of their surrounding and thing on the function.

This will strengthens the concept of worship in themselves and encourage them to do the right. Thus,
the teenagers should be guided to know Allah even during their childhood. Moreover, from the aspect
of axiology, social problem that occur among the teenagers nowadays can be concluded as happen
because they are lack of knowledge and toward Islamic teaching. Most of the teenagers do not follow
the rule of Islam that make them lost the purpose of their life. Thus, through the appreciation towards
the concept of taqwa as the way of life it is able to help them to distinguish between the pros and cons
within their life. This concept stresses on the notion of fear to Allah that encourage humans towards
practice the halal and prevent themselves from the haram. Besides, the ethics of Islam should be
entire implemented including the belief, spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotion and others.

Among the characteristic of Islamic manners is; each manner is not opposing the nature of human’s
creation, as it parallel with human’s natural tendency. It concerns regarding the human’s responsibility
in producing the objective person. Furthermore, the purpose of self-perfection is being focused in Islam
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too, along with the flourished society. It was stated that if morally behaviors are practiced by the unit
of community; it can produce the quality and excellence society. Regarding the social problems among
the teenagers, it can be concluded that the problems are not only affect their life, but also include and
influence the society itself. Thus, the aim towards morality behavior among human is able to be gained
through the spiritual purity and the strength of belief. Each human should be responsible for their act
in gaining the better result as a Muslim. Holistically, Islam will nurture human towards the excellent
life.

Q.4 Compare curriculums developed on the bases of modern philosophies of education. (20)

Philosophy as a Foundation of Educational Curriculum Philosophy refers to the beliefs that make up the
society and constitute the meaning of educational philosophy. It points out to the society what they
aspire to be achieved through education. Education is an act or experience that has a formative effect
on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. It is also the process by which society
deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another
through institution. The term curriculum is from a Latin word for ‘race-course’ referring to the course of
deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature. Curriculum is all the selected
activities done in the society which are used in the learning process. It is a race experience, planned
learning and instruction which requires a learner to know things taught in class producing and
understanding language used, solving problems and making their own decisions. According to John
Franklin Bobbit (1918), a curriculum constitutes various deeds and experiences which are intentioned
and directed or otherwise that a child undergoes as he develops to an adult in a society.

For him, curriculum is a social engineering arena. He realized that curricular formation must have two
important notable features. First, the curriculum must be tailored in such away that it constitutes deed-
experiences that a student ought to have to become the adult he or she ought to become. Second,
those who design the curriculum must have knowledge of the desirable qualities in an adult society.
This knowledge of the good in the society is rightly estimated by philosophy. This makes curriculum to
have intimate relation with philosophy. It is philosophy that discovers and unfolds the good that all
men should aspire and project in all their purposeful education.

Historical psychological and social foundation

Curriculum in its entirety has a philosophical, historical, psychological and social foundation. The field
of curriculum has its set of principles and theories. For example, the term curriculum itself is a concept
describing very complex ideas. In learning, there are principles such as educational philosophy,
curriculum goals and learning objectives which are applied in developing school programs, colleges,
training centers and universities.

This field has its own body of knowledge and skills e.g. in the selection of content making it rely on the
principles knowledge and skills from psychology, philosophy and sociology. Curriculum planning
involves the decision about the philosophy of education. Having decided on the philosophical beliefs
then curriculum goals and objectives are derived from there. These are later translated into the
classroom as desired learning outcomes. Philosophy probably has more influence on curriculum access
and development in that it provides educationists, teachers and curriculum makers with framework for
planning implementation and evaluating curriculum in school. It also helps in answering what schools
are for what subjects are important, how students should learn and what materials and methods
should be used. Philosophy provides the starting point and heuristic dynamism in decision making
about education in its totality.

Philosophy Underpins

All Educational Ideals All of us are familiar with the extrapolated debate on how philosophy is related to
education. My familiarity with the debate is that it is carried out by people who have leant how to
memorize and state various positions and theories word by word. For them to be educated is to state
theories which have so far been constructed in their realm or discipline. To us as philosophers, this
doesn’t amount to what we call education. This conclusion needs to be strongly defended. Let us start
by stating basic facts about philosophy and education. Essentially, education and philosophy, are two
disciplines, however they are two sides of the same coin. This reason behind this assertion is not far
from what we have already considered. Education is the dynamic side of philosophy. Philosophy and
Education are the two flowers of one stem, the two sides of one coin.

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One can never be thought of without the other. The presence of one is incomplete without the other.
The art of education cannot be completed without philosophy and philosophy cannot convert others to
its aims and values without education. There is a close interaction between the two; one without the
other is unserviceable. Philosophy is a discipline whose method is pedagogical (Lonergan, 1957 :398)
Because of this, there is virtually no issue in education which is more fundamental than philosophy of
education. The importance of philosophy to education cannot be denigrated in any open discussion.
Philosophy is what has given education its vision and direction, without which education loses its social
significance. For this simple reason that philosophy endeavors to inculcate in us, through a habit of
committed thinking, to discover our being in ourselves, one can competently say that philosophy is
heuristically and metaphysically pedagogical (methodical). In a general sense, though not totally
exclusive, education is the lifelong process of coming to know the truth of who we are. This reminds us
of the greatest maxim which has been cherished since antiquity; Socratic maxim ‘know thy self’.

This captures the complex meaning and mission of education to man. To be educated is to know
thyself, that is, being able to reach a responsible self awareness where responsible self awareness
suggests the ethical injunction: be thyself in truth, freedom, and goodness.

Philosophy guides education

Ideally speaking, philosophy guides education. It is the guide and the inspiration of education. It
clarifies and sets goals, trains the mind to think and to be critical, opens the mind to major concerns,
thus vindicating the desire to know. Education too does a great deal to philosophy. Education is the
verification, that is, the pragmatic justification of philosophy. Furthermore, another intrinsic relation
that is exhibited by philosophy is the concern with social action. It is a critical engagement in the
practice of truthful living. It deals with issues pertaining to man while living with others in the society
and the meaning they make of all these things.

discover the relationship between philosophy and education. According to Thomson, every teacher
should realize the importance of philosophy in education. For instance, a good philosophy thus would,
not only conceive the philosophy which is authentic in the society, but also, the type of good life, good
education, good social and political life which is needed in the society. This is because the philosophy of
the people determines what their estimation is about the totality of life. The choice of students’
academic, social, moral, life must cater for the principles and purposes of philosophy that he has been
socialized to generally and technically.

Choice of curriculum needs philosophers or leaders of thought. With the change of time and
circumstances, the curricula also changes and this change can be brought out by philosophers alone.
In this regard, the learning process is an active way of doing things; hence the curriculum for the child
should concern itself with the realities of life. As far as the methods of teaching are concerned, it can
be said that the child is influenced; to give a particular shape to his life by the way he is taught. The
philosophy of the teacher is reflected in the child by his method of teaching. So the course of life of the
child is definitely influenced by philosophy. Here comes the utility of philosophy.

For comprehensive view of nature

According to Alfred Weber, Philosophy is a search for comprehensive view of nature, an attempt at a
universal explanation of the nature of things a person who searches into the reason and nature of
things, who tries to arrive at a general principle, and who attempts to apply those principles to daily
conduct of life, acts like a true philosopher. According to John Dewey, philosophy is critical reviewing of
just those familiar things. Education is a laboratory where philosophical theories and speculations are
tested and made concrete. Education may, therefore, be rightly called applied philosophy. Philosophy is
wisdom; education transmits that wisdom from one generation to the other. Philosophy is in reality the
theory of education. In other words, education is the dynamic side of philosophy, or application of the
fundamental principles of philosophy.

Through different philosophical schools of thought curriculum, education policy, educational objectives,
educational goals and vision and mission of education have been established. These philosophies have
guided the development management organization and delivery of education making philosophy closely
related to educational programs are generally philosophical in nature hence any educational in nature
hence any educational theory is linked to philosophy. Philosophy assists in formulating policies, beliefs
and arguments, objectives, goals vision and mission. Philosophy points out to the society what they
aspire to be achieved through education.
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Q.5 Describe the Montessori system of early childhood education. (20)

Provides an overview and detailed explanation highlighting the Montessori curriculum. Complete it to
learn about Montessori principles, methods, and ideas.

Foundation of Montessori Curriculum

Maria Montessori was a respected expert on child development. Her ideas and practices emphasized
that every child goes through a unique development process and is a unique individual that can learn
in line with his or her capacity. It was Montessori's belief that knowledge requires more than simple
memorization of educational material. Montessori insisted that knowledge should be made specific
enough so that any child of any age can understand. She developed a method and series of materials
that can be integrated into the classroom setting.
Montessori curriculum is different from traditional classroom curriculum that focuses on children
learning the same thing, at the same time, in the same way. Montessori curriculum emphasizes
learning as a process that cannot be determined by a child's age. Instead, learning is a process that is
determined by the rate and speed at which a child can acquire one skill before moving on to another
skill. This is why it is not uncommon to see mixed-age groupings in Montessori classrooms, where a 2-
year old may be in the same classroom setting as a 4-year old, based on developmental ability.

Principles of Montessori Curriculum

The Montessori curriculum has been supported by many as an ideal learning environment for children
from primary to elementary grade levels. Currently, there are over 4,000 Montessori schools across
America. These schools adopt most of the main principles of Montessori education:

 Children are to be respected for their individuality.

 Children have an intrinsic, or natural, motivation to learn and will do so if given the right
resources and opportunities in the classroom.
 The first six years of a child's life are the most formative.
 Adults in the classroom are merely facilitators and observers of learning; children have the
ability to direct their own learning without interference from adults.
 Rote memorization of material does not nurture a child's individual skills and abilities and, in
fact, inhibits, or reduces, them.
 Emphasis is placed on early childhood development. During this period, children are exposed to
Montessori methods and practices that are continued well into the primary years of school. It is
during the early childhood period that children's minds are the most adaptable to learning new
information.

Montessori Classrooms
According to Montessori practices, children are allowed to choose their work instead of the teacher
choosing the work for them. An effective teacher in the Montessori classroom serves more as a guide,
whose responsibility is to observe children during their periods and assess them according to mastery.
By observing children's behaviors, the teacher is able to identify what motivates them.
With this in mind, the Montessori classroom provides a child-centered setting, in which mastery of
certain ideas is emphasized without placing unnecessary limitations on the child. The Montessori
method is designed to make the learning environment a meaningful experience based on children's
natural desire to learn.
With this in mind, the classroom setting is prepared with materials appropriate for the students to
explore at their own leisure, based on their interests. This motivates students to want to learn by
exploring their immediate surroundings and resources.
Montessori students are measured according to whether they have mastered the skills necessary to
complete certain tasks. If a student does not demonstrate mastery, he will not advance to more
complex activities until he has achieved mastery. Unlike the traditional school curriculum, Montessori
curriculum focuses on a child's developmental readiness to learn new material rather than assuming all
children should learn the same material based on grade level expectations.

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Sensitive Periods
Montessori identifies several sensitive periods that typically take place between birth to six years old.
Three of these periods are very important: order, language, and movement.
Montessori's Advice in Action

Montessori urged teachers to conduct naturalistic observations of children in carefully prepared

environments. This refers to the orderly environments we talked about in Montessori's beliefs—
environments planned to promote the children's freedom to take care of their own needs and freedom
from dependency on others (the goals described in her beliefs). Teachers in a Montessori program are
to observe and direct children's learning, so they are called directresses rather than teachers.

If you walked into a Montessori program, you would likely see several rooms for different purposes,
child-sized furniture and equipment, real dishes and other items, flowers and plants, and well-
organized materials with careful storage and labeling. Materials, which are a very important aspect of
the curriculum, are generally carefully crafted. They are displayed in open shelves for children's
independent use. Many materials are graded in difficulty; that is, they range from simple to use to very
difficult or complex to use. Montessori's materials are often autotelic, or self-correcting, so that the
child has immediate feedback.

In a Montessori Classroom

Looking back at Montessori's goals for children, it's easy to understand the environment and ultimately
the curriculum. As children develop the ability to take care of their own needs, they learn best from
firsthand experience. In a Montessori classroom, they have practical life experiences such as
gardening, polishing silver, buttoning and zipping, and flower arranging. Directresses make sure that
each activity builds a foundation for a more complex and difficult activity or task, because Montessori
believed that learning is cumulative. Most of the day is spent in individual tasks or activities, rather
than in group activities. Children move freely about the classroom and make their own choices.

If you are comfortable with Montessori's ideas and want to see them in action, we encourage you to
visit a program in your area. There are many Montessori schools and classes in the United States;
there are even some Montessori classrooms in public schools. Be aware of the authenticity of the
program you observe. Some programs use the Montessori name but are not faithful to her ideas. You
can check with the professional associations concerned with implementing Montessori programs. One
of them is the American Montessori Society (AMS) founded in 1956. That organization oversees the
training of directresses and accreditation of schools in the United States.

Everyday tasks

Slowly the children learned to perform most of the everyday tasks involved in preparing the meals and
maintaining the environment of the residential school. Her success with these mentally disabled
children received international attention when, after two years, many of Montessori's such adolescents
were able to pass the standard exams given by the Italian public schools.

Acclaimed for this miracle, Montessori responded by suggesting that newborn human beings normally
enter the world with an intellectual potential that was barely being developed by schools in the early
years of the twentieth century. She challenged that if she could attain such results with children who
were disabled, schools should be able to get dramatically better results with normal children.

The Children's House

Unfortunately, the Italian Ministry of Education did not welcome Montessori's ideas, and she was
denied access to school-aged children. Frustrated in her efforts to conduct the experiment with public
school students, in 1907 she welcomed the opportunity to serve as the medical director for a day-care
center that was being organized for working-class children who were too young to attend public school.

This first Casa dei Bambini (Children's House) was located in the worst slum district of Rome, and the
conditions Montessori faced were appalling. Her first class consisted of fifty children, from two through
five years of age, taught by one untrained caregiver. The children remained at the center from dawn to
dusk while their parents worked, and had to be fed two meals per day, bathed regularly, and given a

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program of medical care. The children themselves were typical of extreme inner-city poverty
conditions. They entered the Children's House on the first day crying and pushing, exhibiting generally
aggressive and impatient behavior. Montessori, not knowing whether her experiment would work under
such conditions, began by teaching the older children how to help out with the everyday tasks that
needed to be done. She also introduced the manipulative perceptual discrimination and puzzles and
eye-hand manipulative exercises that she had used with mentally disabled children.

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